


Siren's Peace

by villainsarebetter (darkling59)



Series: Siren's Song [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Cinderella's deal / Rumple's imprisonment, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 07:02:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7304353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkling59/pseuds/villainsarebetter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Sequel to ‘Siren’s Song’) In the aftermath of Cinderella’s deal and the Dark One's capture, Belle does her best to bring the imprisoned Rumpelstiltskin some peace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Siren's Peace

**Previously:** (Siren's Song) As a child, Belle learned the Siren’s Song charm out of simple curiosity and a love of adventure stories and fantastical beasts…but years later, she learns it is effective against the Dark One and a valuable tool. Rumpelstiltskin is not pleased with the discovery nor the use to which she puts her Song, but he is willing to make a deal rather than killing Belle for her actions. Said deal accidentally fosters a lasting understanding - and a more personal connection - between Belle and Rumpelstiltskin.

 **Now:** In the aftermath of Cinderella’s deal and the Dark One's capture, Belle does her best to bring the imprisoned Rumpelstiltskin some peace. 

 _ **Prompt** : @iambicdearie **:** Anything from your Siren’s Song verse! (2) After they’ve grown a little more comfortable with each other, Rumple’s injured and Belle asks permission to use her power to help him with the pain._

* * *

When Snow White heard that Lady Belle was visiting Rumpelstiltskin in the deepest depths of the dungeons she felt a stirring of unease. Imprisoning the imp had never quite sat right with Snow. She knew that he was the Dark One, the bogeyman of the Enchanted Forest, and that his punishment was fully supported by the Blue Fairy, which should have been all she needed for justification. Blue was the paragon of goodness, heart of white magic, and the kindest person Snow knew – if there was any other option to what they’d done to Rumpelstiltskin, she would have told them. Instead, she had helped them - they would not have been able to capture and contain the Dark One without her help.

By every estimation, they were doing the right thing.

And yet…

Rumpelstiltskin had helped them against Regina. He’d never broken his word. And the conditions they were keeping him in were beyond inhumane. Blue had assured Snow that it was the only way he could not escape, but the very thought of that dark, lonely cell and the gruel that was the imp’s ‘food’ turned her stomach.

And Snow barely knew him – they’d only met a handful of times for a few minutes each. Belle had met him at least four times for hours at a time – how much worse would she take his current conditions?

Snow exchanged a worried glance with her new husband and they hurried to intercept their friend, hoping to stop her before she reached the Dark One’s cage.

* * *

“This is wrong.”

Snow and David came to an abrupt halt at the words and the eerie, intimidating sight that met their eyes in the subterranean cavern. Belle stood strong and proud outside of Rumpelstiltskin’s cell, hands extended through the bars into the darkness beyond. The imprisoned Dark One crouched on the other side, for once silent and still. He was close enough to the bars that he could easily grab, bite, or scratch Belle but he did not even try. In fact, one of Belle’s hands was resting on the imp’s shoulder and the other…

The royals gaped.

Since his capture, not even the most courageous guards had dared to get within two yards of Rumpelstiltskin’s reach, but Belle’s hand was not just raised through the bars - it was fearlessly cradling the beast’s scaled cheek, mere inches from his dangerous teeth, a touch that was caring and concerned. Remarkably, Rumpelstiltskin did not bite or attack, and he was not raving with insanity - he was curled up close to the bars and leaning into the touch, nuzzling against her wrist with his eyes half lidded and content. His head nodded slightly in time with Belle’s voice but he said nothing, not even acknowledging the presence of the queen and king.

Belle’s voice was raised in a lilting, soothing tone, following the Siren’s Song that had become familiar to all of them in the past many months, but that did not hide the heavy disapproval in her tone or the angry, stubborn set of her jaw.

It was extremely unnerving to see the Dark One docile and tame in Belle’s fearless grasp.

When she was not answered, Belle turned her eyes from her charge and glared at her friends.

“ _No one_ deserves to be treated like this.”

“Belle…?” Snow had meant to sound forceful and order the other woman away for her own safety but the word came out uncertain and confused.

“This is _wrong_ , Snow.” In contrast, Belle's’ voice was crystal clear and her tone was pure steel as she repeated the words. Her eyes were bright and angry when she turned them on the new rulers.

She did not specify but she did not need to. The tiny dark cell, empty of all comfort save scuttling vermin and a rotten bowl of gruel, spoke for itself. The imp was filthy, starving, and crazed from solitary confinement.

“He’s the Dark One.” David defended, an automatic response. No one else had protested. In fact, Snow and David had been hailed as heroes for taking down Regina and Rumpelstiltskin (they carefully did not think of the role Rumpelstiltskin had played in taking down the evil queen.) Belle’s reaction, however, made both of them want to squirm in discomfort…or perhaps shame.

“That doesn’t matter.” Belle declared, tone softening only slightly as she continued. “I know you two are better than this. Snow, weren’t you the one who said everyone deserves a second chance? Didn’t you spare Regina’s life, despite her crimes? And what has Rumpelstiltskin done that Regina has not? David, didn’t he help you at least three times?”

“Well, not-not exactly…” David stammered, but Snow stepped in before he could continue.

“He tried to take Cinderella’s child.” She stated firmly, one hand inadvertently coming to rest protectively on her heavily pregnant stomach. _That_ was a point they must agree on, even if ‘he’s the Dark One’ was not a good enough reason for Belle. Besides, it was difficult to see him as a terrifying monster when he was so small and scrawny, cuddling up to Belle like an abandoned pet. He even whimpered when she suddenly stopped stroking his cheek.

“Regina killed _hundreds_ of children. She burned entire towns. Besides, magically binding deals don’t work like that. David, you know that. You’ve dealt with Rumpelstiltskin before. Snow, how many times have you dealt with the fairies? You know about magic.” Belle’s disappointment was almost worse than her anger. “I spoke to Cinderella - he warned her half a dozen times not to take that deal and never hid who he was or the steep cost. She signed it of her own free will without even bothering to read it.”

“You think she should give up her _child?_ ” Snow’s horror and shock at Belle’s apparent indifference pushed all thoughts on the rest of Belle’s words out of her head.

“Of course not! But you should not blame him for something that is Cinderella’s responsibility. You’re better than that, Snow.”

Before the rulers could come up with a response, a thin manic giggle interrupted them. Rumpelstiltskin seemed to be coming back to himself while Belle’s attention was diverted. He tossed his head and unfocused reptilian eyes stared beyond the royals towards the cave entrance - freedom he would never reach.

“Shhhhh…” Belle murmured, turning back to the bars and raising both of her hands to cup his face. Her Song had died away over the course of the conversation, but now it started up stronger than before. Rumpelstiltskin twitched restlessly and snapped at her thumb when it came near his mouth, but his fangs did not catch her flesh and Belle did not falter in her slow movements. Moments later, his gaze was once again half-lidded and docile where he crouched in his cage.

“This is cruel. He can’t stay here.” Belle stated, voice firm. She would not take no for an answer and, looking at the conditions they’d been forcing the Dark One to endure, Charming and Snow could not come up with a good defense.

“We can’t let him go. And how else would we keep him contained?” David’s final, feeble token protest did not even dent Belle’s resolve.

Instead, a radiant smile split the noblewoman’s face. “Oh, I have a few ideas.”

The new king and queen listened warily but in the end they could not find a reason to say no.

* * *

Belle’s plan involved magic-blocking cuffs (provided reluctantly by the Blue Fairy), a heavily guarded servant’s room in the castle proper, and more application of her Siren’s Song than anyone else was comfortable with. After this, there was no way anyone would believe she did not have magic.

They encountered a few tense moments when the cuffs needed to be put on - the imp wouldn’t stop staring at the guards when they tried to come close, regardless of Belle’s interference - and eventually they had to rely on Belle to slip them into place, but otherwise removing him from his cell was surprisingly fast and easy.

That was the hard part; after Belle put Rumpelstiltskin to sleep with her Song and the fairies used magic to keep him that way (though they warned it would not be completely effective against a creature of such darkness and evil), getting him to his new quarters was a walk in the park. Asleep, he was harmless and his small size made taking him upstairs the work of two men with a stretcher and less than ten minutes. They got him settled into his new prison, one more suitably called a cell than a cage, locked and barred the door, and set up guards both outside the room and at the end of the hallway. The fairies claimed that the magic blocking cuffs would keep wards from being necessary.

(David tried to ask why they had not used them in the first place rather than the cell in the dungeons, but his question went unanswered.)

Through it all, the imp remained asleep, quiet and peaceful as a lamb.

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin heard his captors leave – they were not _nearly_ as quiet as they thought they were - but he did not move or open his eyes. His muscles were tense and twitching uncontrollably while his fractured mind swam with madness. He’d never been the most mentally stable individual and so long spent caged alone in the darkness plagued by visions had done him no favors.

He’d always known he would need to be captured for the Curse to be cast, and he’d prepared for it. All of his affairs were in order before he responded to Cinderella’s summons and he’d _thought_ he was ready when he touched the squid-ink pen to her scroll.

It turned out he’d underestimated the Blue Fairy’s capacity for cruelty. Or perhaps he had overestimated Snow White’s capacity for mercy. He had not expected his captivity to include such deplorable conditions.

By the time Snow White and her prince gave him their daughter’s name, his madness had ceased to be an act and become all too real. However, that wasn’t enough to curb his plans - he got the name, wrote it a hundred times over on spelled vellum with squid ink, and in doing so bound the memories of his cursed self to the savior’s arrival. After that, all that was left was to tell Regina the final ingredient to the Curse.

It was while he was waiting for his former student that Belle appeared. Unhinged, he’d cackled madly and tried to provoke her, as he did with everyone. Some part of his mind was bitter that she was there and supported his captivity. No doubt she’d come to preach about his evil deeds and how he deserved his cage. She was an ally of his captors, after all. She’d made him helpless at their command in the past.

She surprised him.

As soon as Belle caught sight of him, trapped like the most diseased rat in the cruelest possible trap, she froze and one hand rose to cover her mouth. She ignored his mocking and insults. Instead, she begged - _begged -_ him to let her help.

With all but one of his tasks completed and the fractured shards of his mind begging for relief, he was not strong enough to say no.

They’d known each other for about six months and met weekly for his lessons in countering the Siren’s Song (far more often than anyone knew), so he thought he knew her pretty well, and she knew him better than anyone since Cora.

…Plus, he might have grown a little fond of his little siren. If asked, he’d make it about her abilities of course, but in reality Rumple had learned all he could from her within a month. He kept the lessons going because he rapidly became addicted to the peace that came with her song and her presence in his life.

She was always willing to smile and welcome him without fear or reservations – a very rare occurrence for the Dark One, and one he found that he appreciated from Belle. Occasionally, he’d also dropped in on her invisibly in between their lessons, just to make sure she wasn’t up to mischief. And if, in the process, he happened to scare off paid goons sent by Regina to capture her, or suppress the magic of whatever dangerous beastie she was attempting to enchant that day – well then, he was just protecting his investment.

Privately, he reluctantly acknowledged the connection he felt, though not the depth of his feelings, but he was under no illusions – he knew it was all one-sided.

Belle was friends with Snow White and Prince Charming; _they_ were the company she preferred. The only reason she spent time with him at all was because she was bound by their deal and far too intelligent to attempt to break it. (A distinction that was not shared by his captors apparently, considering his current situation.)

She never really _wanted_ to be around him – why would she?

Telling her about Cinderella’s deal never crossed his mind and he knew better than to try to work special arrangements into the Curse for her. He could only imagine what horrible things Regina would do if she found out he felt something for Belle, no matter how small or one sided it was.

If he thought about Belle at all after his capture (he did), he imaged hate, disappointment, and harsh words for his actions. She would notice he was gone when he missed their weekly lesson – but would she care?

The surprising answer was _yes._

She showed him mercy, when she found him in his hole. More than every other hero and fairy combined.

Now, sunlight brightened the room beyond his eyelids and the smell of fresh food - basic though it was - made his stomach clench painfully in emptiness. Belle’s familiar soothing voice was audible through the door to his new room (solid - no bars!).

For just a little while, he allowed himself to take refuge in the thought - the _fiction,_ it could only be fiction - that his little siren cared about him too.

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy! And please let me know what you think. :)


End file.
